Author's Note

A quick note about No Pain, No Gain and what I'm trying to accomplish with it. Every writer has a handful of oddly specific subgenres they keep coming back to, and for me one of those has always been gym-themed erotic fiction.

There's just something inherently fun about stories centered around self-improvement, physical transformation, temptation, discipline, and the strange relationships that can develop when someone is pushing themselves to become something more than they were yesterday.

So when I started thinking about what kind of mentor could guide Bells through that journey, my brain immediately landed on Philoctetes, a horny satyr who is equal parts mentor and tormentor. At its heart, No Pain, No Gain is still a story about growth. Bells has spent most of her life relying on charm, wit, stubbornness, and a healthy amount of luck.

This story asks what happens when she decides to become genuinely dangerous through discipline and hard work. The gym becomes a crucible. Every workout, every setback, every victory is another step toward becoming a stronger version of herself.

The first half of the story will focus on Bells mastering a variety of martial disciplines and discovering who she is when stripped of her usual shortcuts. The second half is where things become considerably more mischievous. Once her training is complete, Philoctetes has an entirely new curriculum planned for her, twelve extremely naughty modern interpretations of the Twelve Labors of Hercules.

Expect comedy. Expect temptation. Expect embarrassment. Expect mythology viewed through a very distorted lens. Most of all, expect Bells to be pushed far outside her comfort zone in ways she never could have anticipated when she first walked into that gym.

Unlike some of my darker stories, this one is intended to be playful, sexy, and fun. The stakes are personal rather than apocalyptic. The focus is on character growth, chemistry, self-discovery, and a healthy dose of ridiculousness.

For those looking for something different, I also have a growing collection of other stories featuring Bells, ranging from occult mysteries to gothic horror, to urban fantasy, all pretty spicy. This list will continue to expand over time as new projects are added and old ideas claw their way out of the grave.

The Hills Have Thighs

https://chyoa.com/story/The-Hills-Have-Thighs.74210

Bells investigates a series of vanished travelers in a radioactive desert wasteland, but the clan of cannibal mutants surviving in those hills have plans for her as a breeder.

The Kindness of Ravens

https://chyoa.com/story/The-Kindness-of-Ravens.74453

When Bells breaks down on a dark and stormy night, she is **** to take shelter in Crawford Manor, and becomes embroiled in scandal, seduction and cold-blooded ****.

Shorn Star

https://chyoa.com/story/Shorn-Star.74651

When Bells becomes too good at charming men and hunting monsters, her rival temptresses concoct a nefarious trap in order to teach her a lesson.

As always, thank you for reading and following these bizarre little experiments. Every story lets me explore a different corner of horror, fantasy, and smut, and this one just happens to involve considerably more squats than most.

— Savannah Harrow